The present invention relates to a suspension chain head for a mechanically assembled strand-oriented sling chain system.
Suspension chain heads of the above-mentioned type have been known. Such a suspension chain head includes an annular suspension member which is welded to an annular transitional or intermediate member. The latter has a connecting element which is undetachably connected thereto and has dimensions and carrying capacity in a predetermined range. It serves for suspending or mounting loads, or for hanging, shortening and/or connecting the chains.
Customers frequently require strand-oriented suspension chain heads to be so formed as to exclude eventual faulty mounting of sling chains or connecting member to the elements of the chain head.
These requirements are met by the known suspension members for one strand or two strand sling chains, which are so formed for receiving a predetermined number of sling chains or connecting members so that the suspension element may be connected respectively with only one or more sling chains whose dimensions and carrying capacity are selected in a certain range. The known suspension members with the number of the chains connected thereto are increasingly expensive to manufacture and have inadequate strength.
Suspension chain heads have been also known including an annular suspension member which is welded to an annular or transitional intermediate member. A forked shackle or annular fork for connecting individual sling chains or connecting members of predetermined dimensions is welded to the transitional or intermediate member.
In such a suspension chain head the goal of mounting a predetermined limited number of sling chains is attained without the difficulties encountered in the use of the construction with three or more elements or sling chains. In this case, only such a sling chain or connecting member which has certain dimensions and carrying capacity can be mounted on each forked shackle or annular fork. However, since all members of such a suspension head up to the forked shackles or annular forks must be welded to one another, the chain head must be manufactured for different applications and loading conditions in an extraordinarily great number of different constructions and dimension, which particularly undesirably increase the storage expenditures.